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BY S. B. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, PA., "WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1859.
VOL. 0.JTO. L
DEEDS OF KINDNESS.
Suppose the little cowslip
should bang its golden cup.
And say, '-I'm such a tiny flower, ,
Il better not grow up."
How many a weary traveler
Would miss its fragrant smell :
How many a little child would grieve
To lose it from the dell.
i? oppo?e the glistening dew drop
Upon the grass should say.
"What can a little dew drop do?
I"d better roll away ;'
The blade on which it rested.
Before the day was done,
Without a drop to moisten it,
Would wither in the sun.
Suppose the little breezes,
Upon a summer's day,
Should think themselves too small to cool
The traveler on his way ;
Who would not miss the fin all est
And softest ones that blow,
And think they make a great mistake
Jf they were talking so.
How many deeds of kindness
A little child may do,
Although it has so little strength,
And little wisdom too ;
It wants a loving spirit
.Much more than strength to prove
How many things a child may do
For others by his love.
JrfipvuiGHT SEcrnrn.
CLEAUHELD COUNTY:
OB, REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST.
From the commencement of m anufactnring
sawed lumber nntil within a very recent date,
the business steadily increased, and we have
now about four hundred saw-mills in the coun
ty, the annua! product of which has been es
timated at 100,000,000 ftet, valued at market
t a million of dollars. This of course dues
not represent the full capacity of the mills.
Many of the mills are owned by farmers who
only devote such time as they can spare from
the labors of the farm to running their mills.
Anew system of lumbering, which within a
Jew years lias threatened to carry the sawing
of the logs to other localities, has rendered
tho business more precarious and proven a
drawback on home manufactures. The most
of the mills are' driver by water power a few
are steam mills. With hes'e and there an ex
ception, our mills are erected having in view
the manufacture of boards, plank, scantling
and such like lumber. Very ft-w of them are
saitvil for sawing lumber for large building's
or structures, and bills arc 'rarely sought or
sawed. The lumber scarcely ever exceeds 10
foct in length. When exported, it is general
ly rafted first in platforms formed by making
the alternate layers cross each other. Ten or
more platforms are then united to form a raft.
An ordinary raft contains from i0 to GO M of
boards. Five hands are sufficient to run such
a raft over what is considered the dangerous
part of the streamy and two lrom there to mar
ket. The cost of running such a raft to mar
ket averages about $100. For the ?ale of their
sawed lumber, our raftsmen geueraliy resort
to Middletown or Columbia, but many sales
are made at other points on the river. Some
of the choicest lumber is sent to market in
atks built lor the purpose.y These contain a
Lout the same number of feet as an ordinary
board raft. Frequently light timber rafts are
loaded with boards, and the lumber thus ex
ported. The greatest part of the lumber saw
ed in this county is white pine. Hemlock
comes next in amount, and the trade in that
kind of Inniber seems to be on the increase as
the demand becomes greater. Cherry, poplar,
ash and oak are not exported as much as for
merly. Two streams penetrating our county,
cause a small part of the lumber to descend to
wards the Mississippi, but the bulk goes east
ward. Since the construction cf the Central
Railroad, another channel has been opened to
some sections of the county, and a brisk trade
sprung up with Tyrone and some other places
on the road.
In 1805, David Litz inaugurated a system of
lumbering which has grown to great magii
titde and vastly benefitted our county. The
first timber rait which descended our stream
was ran by him from the Clearfield creek, and
was composed of small house logs. The tim
ber business has been the business of Clear
Held county. It is true that it is attended
with hardships, exposure, and often ended in
disappointments and loss. It is certain that
but comparatively few engaged in it have suc
ceeded in amassing large sums of money.
But it was the business which has so much
advanced the prosperity of the county. With
out it our section might have remained almost
uninhabited. It enabled men to clear land
and at the same time provide the means for
purchasing the soil upon which they were ex
pending the toil of their hands and the sweat
of their brows.V'It provided remunerating la
bor for them and their cattle during that sea
Ron in which they would otherwise have been
compelled to be idle for lack of work upon
their farms. And this, in connection with
the branch of lumbering already spoken of,
has caused our citizens to leave home more or
less frequently, to mingle with people of other
sections, and thereby gain new ideas and de
velop their intellectual powers. Lumbering
has made us a reading and thinking communi
ty, and diffused more general intelligence a
mong our people than is generally met with in
rural populations. The manufacture of square
timber commences after fall seeding. Trees
are selected to suit the kind of raft intended
to be made. These are felled, and whilst one
set of hands are engaged in juggling and sco
ring In, another set hews the timber. It is
hewn as near square as can be. Whilst thus
engaged, many woodsmen live in cabins, where
they do their own cooking and such work as is
necessary to their comfort. Of course, when
houses are convenient and boarding can be ob
tained, it is done. Some serious and fatal ac
cidents have occurred from the falling of trees,
but the greatest number of accidents have re
sulted from the glancing of tho axe whilst
chopping timber of which the sap was hard
frozen...The -requisite number of sticks ob
tained and made, advantage is taken of the
snow to haul the lumber to a stream. Two
horses or oxen are generally attached to a
stick containing oO to 100 cubic feet. It of-,
ten requires a much greater force, owingjio.
the contents of the stick and the character .of
the road the latter having the greatest iriflu-:
ence. At first only the timber handy to a
stream was valued, now it is hauled many
miles. Oftimes in hauling spars, cn span of
horses are found insuflicient. Many such
sticks are cut and run, which are from 80 to
90 feet in length and from CO to 40 inches in
diameter. When the timber sticks or spars
are hauled to the river they are laid side by
side and secured by lash poles so as to form a
raft about 22 feet wide and 200 feet or up
wards in length. A timber raft averages a
bout 5000 cubic feet, and a spar raft contains
about twenty sticks. These rafts, like board
rafts and arks, arc managed by oars hung fore
and aft. The downward current of the stream
is the propelling power. The oars are only
used to guide the rafts. The crookedness of
the stream, the swiftness of the water in some
places, and the rocks which are in or near the
channel, require that the rafts should bo in
charge of experienced and skillful pilots. On
our streams the pilots command the forward
oar, instead of, as in other places, taking po
sition on the hindmost part of the craft. In
some places the navigation is very dangerous,
a stroke with the oar at a wrong time or place
sometimes running the raft on a rock, cr high
and dry on shore. Such a mishap frequently
causes other rafts to stave at the same place,
and sometimes a number of rafts are piled one
on another before the descending crafts can
be informed of the "mishap, and saved by be
ing secured to shorc' Occasionally an acci
dent to one raft prevents the passjge of others
for days and a flood-is lost. When staved in
some localities a raft is scarcely worth looking
after. Occasionally the raft must be taken off
of the rocks stick by stick and re-rafted. A
bout the same force is necessary to run a tim
ber or spar raft as a raft of boards, and the
expense is about the same. To run the lum
ber, advantage is taken of the periodical
floods caused by the melting of the snow or
the rains which fall in this section. Lumber
cannot be run but at the time of a flood, and
it has happened that a year has elapsed with
out a 'running' lreshet occurring. Should the
flood be very high it renders the navigation so
dangerous that the rafts await the falling of
the water. The stage of the water has much
influence upon the distance the craft will de
scend and tho length of time to be employed
in ruuning, as it is not every place alotig the
river where a landing can be effected or a safe
harbor obtained. Each raft is provided with a
rope about lj inches through and some 50 or
CO feet in length. One end of this is secure
ly attached to the raft, and when it is desired
to land, the other end is thrown on shore, and
a hand gets on shore to "snub," that is, pass
the rope around a tree and gradually check
the progress of the raft. Too sudden a check
would break the rope. To assist in landing,
long sticks, called "grousers," are sometimes
passed through openings in the raft. These
rubbing along the bed of the river retard the
passage of the raft. To land requires quick
ness and sonio skill. Occasionally, particu
larly when the water is high and wild, land
ings are missed and the raltsmen spend a night
upon the water, surrounded by perils. Should
the hand on shore unluckily be caught in a
coil of tho rope, a leg may be severed from
the body by a clean cut. Casualties on the
river are of rare occurrence, considering the
number engaged and the liability to accidents.
(TO BE COXTIXI ED.)
Next Field for Agitation. Neosho, or
the Indian Territory, as has before been occa
sionally hinted, is likely to be tho next rally
ing point of the South, for the organization of
a new Slave State. Kansas has been thorough
ly tried, and is at length to be abandoned. A
Kansas Pro-Slavery correspondent of the
Charleston Mercury siguiflcantly writes : "We
have about 2,700 Southern men in Kansas, and
they intend emigrating South as soon as Kan
sas is admitted info the Union. Wo are con
nected with a Southern organization, and,. in
cluding all, we have about 17,000 men. The
next theatre for ac'llon will be the Indian Ter
ritory south of Kansas, including Cherokee,
Creek aud Choctaw nations. The South should
prepare for this in time, and stand by her ter
ritorial rights."
A fat House Contract. The Leavenworth
correspondent of the New York Timess ays :
"The last subject of discussion here is a con
tract given to a Virginian named Gilespie for
400 cavalry horses, at $175 apiece. The lucky
recipient of the job sold out to a St. Louis
d?aler at a profit of $14,000 that is the actual
horse dealer filled the contract at $140 a horse.
Hut this was not the whole loss to the govern
ment ; the horses were not wanted certainly
at this season. Two hundred and five of the
animals, however, were sent to Fort Smith,
and the balance (195) to this port, and an ofli
cer was sent on to inspect and receive them,
and turn them over to the Quarter-master."
THE LAST BULLET.
An Incident of Commodore Stewart's Algerine
Experience.
The United States ship-of-war Constellation
was anchored in the harbor of Algiers, whith
er she had proceeded under command of Com
modore Preble, having on board, among other
officers, Charles Stewart, then an Acting Lieu
tenant. It was the watch of yonng Stewart, and he
was parading to and fro on the deck, about
half an hour after sunset, when ho saw a small
boat, containing a single person, coming off
from the Old Port, as the western part of the
town is so called, and heading directly for the
ship.
This person was rowing with all his might,
and Stewart 'was not long in discovering the
-caused - Close behind the single boatman
ivas-seen a large rover filled with men, whose
presence was announced by a continued firing
at him of whom they weTe in such determin
ed pursuit, holding on their way until they
were nnder the very guns of the ship.
- "Now, by my soul I" cried Stewart, "may
I be shot if I don't teach those fellows a les
son. : Stand by, Mr. Rogers," ho added, ad
dressing a favorite gunner, "to throw a little'
grape into. that fellow." ' '
Just aft ct'i a wreath of smoke curled up from
.the side of' the ship, and as the report went
booming over-the water the iron messenger
sped on its way, crashing into the pursuing
boat, severely wounding two or three of her
crew. She instantly turned to put back, at
the same time that the fugitive reached his
destination, and came up the side into the
presence of tho ofliccr of the deck. He was
an elderly man, with a stout frame and brow
nish features; but it required but a single
glance from the lieutenant to see that he was
English or American. When he was sufficient
ly recovered from his over exertion to breathe
he went on to tell his story, to which Stewart
listened with much excitement.
The new comer was an American citizen,
named James Collins, a native of New York,
who, with his wife and daughter, had been ta
ken from an American vessel at the same time
as its commander and crew, two years before,
by an Algerine pirate. His wife had since
died, and he and his daughter had been en
during since his capture all the horrors of a
hopeless and aggravated captivity ; but the
worst part of the poor man's story, and that
which moved Lieutenant Stewart the most,
was the announcement that his daughter, a
gentle and beautiful girl, was on the eve of
being forced into a detestable union with the
very wretch who had bought her and her father
as slaves.
"My agony at these. circumstances culmina
ted not two hours ago," finished the father,
"when I struck the persecutor insensible to
my feet and fled. By dint of exertion I man
aged to reach the watet side, and embarked
before the pursuers could prevent it. But,
though I have succeeded in reaching this
place of safety, my poor Alice is still in the
power of her tormentor, exposed to his ven
geance : and lam almost crazy at thinking
that she may even now be subjected to a fate
worse than death. If I could only guide a
boat's crew, under your order"
"One moment," interrupted Stewart. "Staj
where you are until I have seen Commodore
Preble."
One moment the yonng lieutenant was en
gaged with his commander in the C'ibin, and
then he came forth with a stern smile of sat
isfaction on his features. Ten minutes more
had not passed before a cutter with twelve
chosen men pushed off in the darkness, with
the lieutenant and the stranger in the stern,
and rapidly struck out for tho shore.
"Our owner," said Mr. Collins, "resides in
the western part of the city. There is a coast
guard established, but 1 do not apprehend that
we shall have any especial trouble from that
source. I think we can land below, go up the
street to the house, and carry oil my child,
and all without losing a man."
Tho boat landed, after twenty minutes of
rapid progress, at a small wharf near the Ge
leta, in the western part of the town. The ar
rival was certainly observed, but not a great
deal of attention was bestowed upon it by the
stupid Algerines. Leaving part of his men
in the cutter, with orders for them to lie down
under the wharf, Lieut. Stewart and the re
mainder of his force' followed the footsteps of
Mr. Collini-,-rwiio-1edithe way rapidly up the
intervening streets.
On arriving at his late prison, an old, dingy
looking structure, extremely spacious, having
all the looseness of the Moorish style, the par
ty discovered that silence and darkness were
the principal features of the scene. Not a
sound was heard nor a word nttered. The
whole building seemed deserted. The agony
of the father was extreme.
"Oi my child-! my child!" he cried, no
longer abl3".to control the .-terrible emotions
which hacHwen -surging through his soul du
ring tho last hour, "shall I never see thee
more ?"
A Moorish slave came around frcm the rear
of the building, and assuied his fellow captive
that the girl had been carried off by the mas
ter, and that no one was at home save himself.
But even as the lying rascal uttered the con
cluding words, a wild shriek was heard in the
chamber, and the next moment a young and
beautiful girl of seventeen summers appeared
at one of the front windows, looking like a
spectre in her garments of spotless white.
"My child, my Alice !" exclaimed Mr Col
lins. "Save me, father !" was the response, and
while shouts and groans were heard proceed
ing lrom the interior of the building, the
maiden threw herself from the low window,
falling into the very arms of her father and
Lieutenant Stewart.
The very moment of this reunion was des
tined to be that in which a company of Alge
rine troops came round the nearest corner,
marching up tho street in the direction of
Lieut. Stewart and his men. It was also at
the same moment that the old Moor, who had
so long considered himself the proprietor of
Mr. Collins and his daughter, came to the
window and set up a startling yejl.
"This way !" cried Mr. Collins,and he dash
ed open the front door of the building, and
conducted the entire party within. "Look to
your weapons, and take the rascals off their
pins the instant they halt," said Stewart.
A sharp and determined struggle soon com
menced, in the course of which half tho Moor
ish soldiers were killed, and the remainder
finally gave way. But the rescuers had ex
pended all their ammunitioned only a single
bullet was remaining ; that was in a large
horse-pistol in the possession of Lieut. Stew
art. lie was Just wondering what he should do
with it when the oldMoor came down stairs with
a huge sibre in his grasp, an"d made a furious
dash at Mr. Collins and daughter, with mur
der written on his features and flashing from
his eyes. This sudden arrival decided the
destination of the last bullet.
"Take it, yon black devil !" cried Stewart,
just as the blow was descending, and he fired
iiis weapou, the ball passing through the mis
creant's head, and bringing him dead to the
floor.
"Now, boys," said Lieut. S., we are going
to finish with a hand-to-hand fight. The pow
der and ball are out; we must trust to the
sword." j.
Closely followed by his men as well as by
Mr. Collins and Alice, the Lieutenant led the
way towards the boat. It seemed as if Al
giers had turned out to witness the triumphal
retreat, the streets being filled with thousands
of men and women collected together by the
brief contest at the Moors's house, but not an
attempt was made to intercept the progress of
the party,the Algerines contenting themselves
with scowls and denunciations. Ten minutes
later the rescuers were at the cutter, twenty
minutes more and the entire party were safely
back to tho Constellation, not having lost a
man. The young lieutenant received the
hearty thanks of his superior, to say nothing
of thegratitudc of Mr- Collins and his daugh
ter, whose family proved to be of consequence
in New York ; and we are assured that Char
ley Stewart was never happier in his life than
when Miss Alice was united to one of his
"chums," a noble-hearted lieutenant, now a
commodore, who fell in love with the rescued
maiden on the Constellation's homeward passage.
ANECDOTE 03? CASSIUS 11. CLAY.
Notwithstanding the stroDg enmities which
the slavery question ever engenders in the
South, C. M. Clay's social qualities have made
him ahvaj-s a favorite with the magnanimous
portion of the slaveholders. On the Kentuc
ky river, at the base of one of those immense
ledges of perpendicular limestone, which give
that stream the most sublime and picturesque
scenery, where Fayette county joins Madison,
(Mr. Clay's native co.,) flows one of the cold
est and purest streams of water in all the land.
Here for many years parties of gentlemen
from both counties have been in the habit of
meeting in the most 'social and unreserved
manner, and feasting upon what is called a
"hnrgout" a sort of camp soup made of fish,
turnips, red pepper, &c. as much relished m
the West as chowder in New England with
interludes of cigars, old Bourbon and nnec
dotcs. On such occasions all come uninvi
ted, high and low, rich and poor, and a gen
eral jollification ensues.
A few years since, on one of the occasions,
the Vice President (John 0. Breckenridge,)
the Dudleys, Bruces, Hunters and other good
fellows being present, it was proposed to go in
bathing, and for many hundred yards the river
was splashiug with good and bad swimmers,
playing on each other all sorts of tricks. In
the midst of all the fun came the terrible cry
"a man is drowning!" This was Mr. Willis,
of Madison county, whose family had been the
most bitter enemies of C. M. Claj-. The four
or five men who were nearest him fled to the
shore in great terror, and immediately from a
score or more persons rose the cry, "Clay
Clay Clay !" Mr. Clay was about fifty or
sixty jards above, but immediately swam down
the swift stream to where Willis had sunk
never to rise again of his own effort and seiz
ing him by the hair at arm's length, swam to
wards the shore, kenping the lace of the near,
ly insensible man under water.
He was called to on all sides to raise Willis'
head above water; but knowing that the life
of both depended upon keeping the drowning
man from seizing hold of the swimmer, he pro
ceeded calmly without answering till he plac
ed his charge safely on land ; then turning to
his officious advisers who had fled from the
danger which they left to others, he said
"next time, if you want his head raised above
water, raise it yourself!" The universal call
for Clay in this imergency, showed the great
and unquestioned confidence which all who
know him place in his quiet courage, and mag
nanimity of soul; and the end proved that it
was not misplaced. Willis and his family be
came thenceforth his life iriends.
Witchcraft In the course of the century
during which the persecution against so-called
witchcraft was at its height in Germany from
1580 to 1G80 it is calculated that more than
100,000 individuals,nine-tenths of whom were
woman, were its victims. To the honor of hu
manity be it said, some voices were raised
ngainst this blood-thirsty practice ; but they
were drowned In the general clamor. In every
part of Germany, Protestant, or Catholic, the
same atrocities were committed. At length,
in the year 1631, the noble-hearted Count
Frederic Stein, himself a member of the or
der of Jesuits, an order which had been a
mong the most violent denouncers of sorcery,
ventured to step boldly forward and declare,
that among the many whom he had conducted
to the scafRld, there was not one whom he
could confidently declare guilty. "Treat me
so,"he added,"treatin this manner the judges,
or the heads of the church, subject us to the
same tortures, and see if you will not discov
er sorcery in us all." Despite this burst of
generous indignation, it was not nntil 1694
that this incomprehensible insanity began to
abate. The last so-called witch burnt in the
German Empire was a poor nun, aged 70, in
the j'ear 1749, at Berg. But at Glarus, in
German Switzerland, an execution of a simi
lar nature took place as late as 1794. This
time the victim was a servant girl, accused of
having practiced diabolical arts, to lame the
child of her employers. Germany, indeed,
seemed to live in an atmosphere of sorcery.
The ground which faith had lost, superstition
made her own. Poets and Poetry of Germany.
A Louisiana Paper, in recording the death
by lightning of "two likely negro men," says :
'The electrid fluid of the clouds seems to be
no respector of persons. It would as soon
kill a negro worth fifteen hundred or two thou
sand dollars as a poor white man not worth the
powder and lead to blow his brains out."
The odorous matter of flowers is inflamma
ble, and arises from an essential oil. When
growing in the dark their odor is diminished,
but restored in the light, and it is strongest in
sunny climates. The plant known as the frax.
mclla takes fire in hot evenings by bringing a
flame near its roots.
FUNERAL OF A SIBERIAN CHIEF.
At a late meeting of the London Royal His
torical Society, Mr. Atkinson, whose interest,
ing travels among the Kirgiz, and other no
mades of Siberia, have recently been publish
ed, delivered to the meeting "A narrative of
some of his adventures among those rarely
visited tribes," giving a graphic picture of
their habits and manners. The following is
an account of the funeral of a chief named
Darnia Syrym, who died near Norzaisan, when
Mr. Atkinson was on a visit to tho tribe :
"So soon as the chief w.'s dead, messengers
were sent off to invite the head men residing
within a hundred miles, who all immediately
repaired to the place. The body of the chief
was laid oat in his best attire, his chair of
state was placed at his head, his saddle, his
arms and clothing were hung around, and silk
curtains were suspended from the roof of his
yourt. Ilis wives and daughlers, with the fe
males of the tribe, knelt around, chanting the
funeral dirge, in which the voices of men oc
casionally joined. While this was going on
the funeral feast was preparing. Ten horses
and a hundred sheep were slaughtered and the
flesh was thrown into numerous caldrons, boil
ing over fires built in th! ground, which were
constantly kept stirred by men stripped to
the waist. When a sufficient quantity of food
was dressed, the feast began. The guests sat
in a circle round the meat, the chiefs nearest
the centre ; those of next degree next them;
and the women outside.
"The feast lasted seven days, during which
2,000 persons partook heartily in the consump
tion of mutton and horse-flesh. On the eighth
day the body was conveyed to the tomb on a
camel; the camel also carried the chair of
state. The two favorite horses of the chief
followed ; after which went the whole tribe,
singing the funeral hymn. On reaching the
place of burial, the body was deposited in the
grave, and the horses were forthwith slain and
placed beside the body of their master. When
the grave was filled up, all returned to the en
campment to continue the funeral feast, which
comprised one hundred horses and one thous
and sheep, slaughtered for the occasion. The
festival continued for several days after the
burial, the chief and thefamil' of the deceas
ed chanting his praises every day, until all the
guests had gradually departed for their homes.
The feast was kept up by the tribe for a con
siderable time afterwards; and the chanting
was repeated every day, at sunrise and sunset,
for a whole year. Mr. Atkinson dwelt on the
very impressive nature of the ceremony the
wailing music of the funeral chants the sor
row, apparent at least, exhibited by an im
mense concourse of mourners mingled with
the almost savage accompaniment of the
feast ; all this, in the midst of a desert which
seemed to be of unlimited extent, produced
an effect which an Englishman finds it difficult
to picture tjo himself."
Remedy for Insect Bites. When a raus
quito. flea, gnat, or other noxious insect prtne
tures the human skin, it deposits or injects an
atom of an acidulous fluid of a poisonous na
ture. The results are irritation, a sensation
of tickling, itching, or of pain. The tickling
of flies we are comparatively indifferent about;
but the itch produced by a flea, or gnat, or
other noisome insect, disturbs our serenity,
and, like the pain of a wasp or a bee sting, cr
cites us to a remedy. The best remedies for
the sting of insects are those which will in
stantly neutralize this acidulous poison depos
ited in the skin. These are either ammonia
or borax. The alkaline re-action of borax is
scarcely jet sufficiently appreciated. How
ever, a time will come when its good qualities
will be known, and more universallj- valued
than ammonia, or, as it is commonly termed,
"hartshorn ;" it is moreover a snlt of that in
nocent nature that it may be kept in every
household. The solution of borax for insect
bites is made thus: Dissolve one ounce of
borax in one pint of water that has been boiled
and allowed to cool. Instead of plain water,
distilled rose water, elder, or orange flower
water is more pleasant. The bites are to be
dabbed with the solution so long as there is
any iiritation. For bees' or wasps' stings, the
borax solution may be made of twice the a
bove strength. In every farmhouse this solu
tion should be kept as a household remedy.
Carstang vs. Shaw. The case of EflieC.
Carstang against Henry Shaw, of St. Louis
for breach of promise, will be remembered as
one of the most remarkable of its kind ever
occurring in this country. On its trial a ver
dict was rendered by a St. Louis jury lor the
sum of one hundred thousand dollars againsi
the defendant. This, however, was set aside
on account of some informalities, and anew
trial ordered for the coming fall. The plain
tiff and her family formerly lived in the city
of Brooklyn, and, to ascertain, and, if possi
ble, impeach the character of the plaintiff, a
commission was issued by the courts of Mis
souri appointing John G. Eager and Edward
II. Collins, Esqs, of New York, to take tes
timony thereon. The testimony, which is
very voluminous, is just closed. Many of tha
first and oldest citizens have been examined.
It is said the only important witness against
her has been impeached. Nearly four weeks
have been spent in daily examinations of wit
nesses on both sides. The testimony will be
transmitted to St. Louis, and the final trial
had in November in that city.
Important Question Settled. We have
always been interested in the number of chil
dren which John Rogers, of precious memory,
had at the time he was burnt. That picture in
the old primer is before us now, when his wife
and "vine small children, with one at the
breast," were seen in the distance. 'Chancel
lor Walwoith, tit Norwich, settled the matter
by exhuming from some old history a letter or
address from John to the government, in which
was a passage to this effect : "I would that my
worthy wife might come to see me ; she has
with her ten children, which are hers and mine,
and I would comfort her somewhat."
Parson Brownlow. This eccentric gentle
man recentlv passed through Staunton, on his
way to the Virginia Springs. He has almost
entirely lost his voice, but he says he intends
to raise it against Locofocoisra as long as he
can, and when he can no longer speak he in
tends to make mouths at the rascally concern !
It ought always to be steadily inculcated,
that virtue is the highest proof of understand
ing, and the only solid basis of greatness; that
vice is the consequence of narrow thoughts,
and that it begins in mistake and ends in ignominy.
OLD VIRGINIA.
An Illinois Sucker took a great dislike to a
foolish young Virginian who was a fellow-passenger
with him on one of the Mississippi
steamboats. Tho Virginian was continually
combing his hair, brushing his clothes, or dus
ting his boots to all which movements tiro
Sucker tock exceptions, as being what ho
termed "a leetle too darned nice, by half."
He finally drew up his chair beside the Vir
ginian and began
"Whar might you be from, stranger ?"
"I am from Virginia, sir," politely answer
ed the gent.
"From old Virginny, I s'p3se ?" says tha
Sucker.
"Yes, sir, old Virginia," was the reply.
"You are pooty high up in the pictures thar,
I suppose ?"
"I don't know what you mean by that re
mark, sir."
"Oh, nnthin'," says the Sucker, "but that
you are desp'rate rich, and have been brought
up right nice."
"It the information will gratify you, in any
way," says the gent patronizingly, smoothing"
down his hair, "I belong to one of the first
families."
"Oh, in course," answered the Snckcr.
"Wrell stranger, bein' as you belong to the
furst, I'll just give you two of the fattest shoats
in all Illinois ef you'll only find me a teller
that belongs to one of the second Virginny
families."
"You want to quarrel with me, sir," says
the Virginian.
"No, stranger, not an atom," answered the
Sucker, "bnt I never seed one of the second
family, and I'd gin suthin to git a sight at ono
of 'em. I know you are one of the furst, 'cause
you look just like John Randolph."
''This mollified the Virginian the hint of a
resemblance to the statesman was flattering to
his feeliegs, and he accordingly acknowledg
ed relationship with the orator.
"He, you know, descended from tho Ingln
gal, Pocahontas."
"You are right, sir," answered the other.
"Well stranger," said the Sucker, -"do yon
know thar is anuthcr queer thing allys puzzles
me, and it's this I never seed aVirginyin that
didn't claim to be either descended from an
lngin, John Randolph, or a nigger."
We need not add that the Sucker rolled off
his chair suddenly ! They were seperated
until the Sucker got off at a landing near his'
home. As he stepped ashore, he caught sight
of the Virginian on the upper deck, and bail
ed him at once with
"I say, old Virginny. remember two fat
shoats for the furst feller you find belonging
to the'second Virginny family !"
SOCIAL LIFE ON THE FRONTIERS.
W"e copy the following from one of Mr. Gree
ley's letters, dated Big Sandy, Oregon, July 6.
In speaking of the inhabitants on Black's Fork,
he says : "J. R.who has been here some twen
ty odd years began with little or nothing, and
has quietly accumulated some fifty horses,
three or four hundred head of neat cattle, three
squaws, and any number of half-breed chil
dren. He is said to be worth seventy-five thou
sand dollars, though he has not even a garden,
has probably not tasted an apple or peach these
ten 3-ears, and lives in a tent, which would bo
dear at fifty dollars. I instance this gentle
man's life, not by any means to commend it,
but to illustrate the habits of a class. Whito
men with two or three squaws each, are quite
common throughout, this region, and young
and really comely Indian girls, are bought
from their fathers, by white men, as regularly
and openly as Circassians at Constantinople.
The usual range of prices is from $40 to $80,
about that of Indian horses.
I hear it stated that, though all other trades
may be dull, that in young squaws is always
brisk on Green River and the North Platte.
That women so purchased should be discard
ed or traded off", as satiety or avarice may
suggest, and they should desert or deceivo
their purchasers, on the slightest temptation,
can surprise no one.
I met an Irishman on Big Sandy, whoso
squaw had recentiy gone off with an Indian
admirer, leaving him two clever, bright, half
breed children of seven and five years.
I trust that plank in the Republican Nation- "
al i'latlorm,wlucn aturms tne right ana duty or
Congressional Prohibition, not only of Slavery
in i lie territories, uui ui i oo gamy aiso, is
destined to be speedily embodied in a law.
Mtsteriocs Affair at Harrisburg. Wo
learn from the Harrisburg Telegraph of the
10th, that a tragedy, involved in considerable
mystery, is now the prevailing sensation in
that place. It appears that a short time since,
a colored woman was imprisoned in Carlisle.
While in jail she disclosed the fact that about
eighteen months since, while the was employ
ed as servant in the house of Mrs. Black, of
Harrisburg, two gamblers, one of them named
Knox, came to the house, accompanied by a
stranger, for the purpose of gambling for
money. During the evening a quarrel aroso
between them. The stranger- drew a knife,
and Knox a pistol. Knox fired and shot tho
stranger through the head, killing him in
stantly. The colored girl says 'she has been
prevented from telling the story heretofore by
bribes and threats. The girl Mas brought
from Carlisle to Harrisburg where she repea
ted the story. Knox being .in Philadelphia,
a dispatch was sent to the Mayor to have him
arrested, which was promptly done.. Search,
was made for the body of the murdered man
in the place where the girl said it had Wen
buried, but no trace of it could be found.
Knox was brought before Jndgc PearsCn on a
writ of habeas corpus, on Saturday afternoon,
where he entered bail in three securities
to the amount of $15,000, to appear at Court
and answer the charge of murder.
The other day a lady fell off the Brooklyn
boat into the East river; a poor Irishman
sprang over and rescued her. When she was
on deck again, her husband, who had been a
calm spectator of the accident, handed tht
brave fellow a shilling. Upon sotne or the.
bystanders expressing indignation, Pat, said,
as he pocketed the coin, "Arrah, don't blarao
the jintleman he knows best ; mayhap if I
hadn't saved her, he'd have given mo a dollar!
The boys in Western New York are so fast
to make Blondins of themselves,' that the doc
tors have full lists c,f fractured limbs and bro
ken heads to attend to." - - . .
We heard of a dogVho was to erious that
be hadn't the least bit of vag about bis taiLf